The transplantation of an organ from one person to another often requires that the organ be evaluated and preserved from the time of its removal from a body (e.g., a deceased human body) and transplantation into a second body (e.g., a recipient). Once the organ has been removed, it is generally preserved for a short period by washout with a standard organ preservation solution and aseptic storage on ice. The organ, depending on the protocol of the center involved, can be preserved and transported prior to transplantation on a system which holds the organ in a container, cools the organ (e.g., to about 3-5 degrees C), and provides the organ with a perfusate to continually washout and preserve the organ. The system may also provide oxygenated perfusate and precursors for energy production to the organ to aid in its preservation. The system is further designed to mimic human perfusion physiology whereas a pulsatile pump replicates the pumping action of the human heart by forcing (or ejecting) a stroke volume of perfusate under an established pressure set by the operator. This set pressure is, in effect, the same type of pressure generated by the human heart in the contraction phase (or systolic phase). As the pump resets or recoils, the pressure decreases to a diastolic (or resting) pressure. A pressure monitoring system in the device measures both the systolic, diastolic and also calculates a mean pressure for evaluation by the operator.
It is important to note that after the removal of an organ (e.g., kidney) from a human body, the arteries of the organ may become vasoconstricted due to the cold preservation solution used to washout the organ during the recovery procedure from the donor such that it is necessary to provide a pulsed force to the arteries to re-open them prior to the organ being transplanted into a second human body. Such a pulsed force is believed to be most effective when initially delivered in a low frequency, low volume, low pressure system. The force can be gradually increased during the preservation period prior to transplantation of the organ. The perfusate is therefore provided in a pulsed manner by a pump which is designed to deliver the perfusate within a set of controlled specifications. An organ may only be able to tolerate a certain pressure and/or volume of perfusate from such pump at a given time. The pump specifications must be monitored because if the pressure or volume exceeds a set pressure or volume threshold, damage may be sustained to the organ.
With this background in mind, a need exists for a system and method to preserve an organ prior to transplantation which includes a pump that may be regulated to inhibit damage to an organ due to excess pressure, fluid volume, or temperature such that the organ is preserved and is not damaged while being preserved for transplantation.